Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - For the Wolf

One of the quote endorsement things on my library’s copy of this book said it was great for “fans of Uprooted,” and I am definitely a fan of Uprooted. And I was liking the twisted fairy tale vibes I was getting from the back cover.

As hard as everything from the cover to the protagonist’s name tries to give a Red Riding Hood vibe, For the Wolf is reimagining of Beauty and the Beast if anything. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if you’ve watched the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast, you’ll be able to predict the basic shape of a lot of future events.

In this word, the gods are gone, and the Wolf in the Wilderwood has them trapped. Per tradition that’s practically taken the role of prophecy, the oldest princess becomes queen, and the second princess gets sacrificed to the Wolf in hopes that an acceptable sacrifice will convince him to release the gods. Naturally, queens try to only have one daughter, but Red has the unfortunate honor of being a twin. So on her twentieth birthday, she got to be sacrificed to the Wolf.

The main story is Red, meeting the Wolf (which is actually a title, not a species indicator), exploring what in the heck is going on in the Wilderwood, and dealing with magic. But there are also some parts from the perspective of Neve, Red’s sister, back at home and desperate to get her sister back.

At first, I loved the story. It definitely had Uprooted vibes, I was curious about the Wilderwood and what was behind all the weird stuff going on, and I was actually a little interested in the relationship between Red and the Wolf.

And then it started to drag. Red is stubborn and powerful and has an attitude of “I’m here now so I’m going to help,” but the Wolf absolutely refuses to tell her anything about what’s going on, claiming he’s trying to protect her even when knowing would help her protect herself. I was expecting him to eventually give in and tell her and then the story could start, but he never did. Red doesn’t find out certain Very Essential Information until right before the climax. It only took a few chapters for this deliberate and repeated refusal to let Red join the plot to go from slowing down the story to outright frustrating.

The big driving force of this story is how much Red is loved, but I think I have a different understanding of love than than what’s in this book. There are no less than two (and arguably three) characters who show their love for Red by being willing to die in the process of undoing Red’s choice rather than accept that she made a choice they didn’t like. They all said they loved her – and maybe they thought they did – but actual love has to also involve respecting the other person’s autonomy. If they aren’t willing to respect her choices about her own life and instead do everything in their power to force her to do what they want, that shows more that they feel like they own her or are entitled to make decisions for her rather than loving her.

I wish I could have liked this book more than I did. The world was fantastic, even the small bits of politics that I got from Neve’s sections were interesting, a unique religion is a driving force in the story, the Wolf’s story was revealed in tantalizing layers, I actually enjoyed the slow-burn relationship between Red and the Wolf, and the Wilderwood was a great setting with a lot of potential. But even though the story hinged around Red’s choices, every single character in the book was dead set against letting her make those choices – or if she managed to anyway, doing everything up to and including dying to undo them. It’s like the entire story was telling Red, “Yeah, we know you’re the main character, but we don’t want you to be part of it so it sit down and shut up.”

I did finish it. I suppose it’s because I wanted to see if anyone ever let Red make a choice (spoiler: no, the only “character” who respects Red’s choices is not even human) and because there were other good things in the book (the Wilderwood, mainly) whose stories I wanted to see play out. I was so excited to find something similar to Uprooted that I hoped to love, and then it rapidly decided that it hated its protagonist and drove me into frustration. I wish I could have liked this.

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folded_between_pages_of_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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looseleafellie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

For the Wolf follows Red, a princess who is destined to go into the Wilderwood to be claimed by the Wolf in order to save her kingdom’s captured gods. But upon arriving, she realizes that a lot of what she’s been told is a lie, and now she must use her dangerous magic to help save the Wilderwood and her loved ones …

This book starts off slow, but it builds up into a fantastically atmospheric and gripping read! I’m OBSESSED with Red and Eammon’s relationship, and Red’s sister Neve really grew on me despite all her gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing 😄 I also loved Fife and my aroace queen Lyra!

You’d have thought this was a Little Red Riding Hood retelling from the, uh, everything about it, but actually it’s much more like Beauty and the Beast, complete with a library! BatB retellings can sometimes verge into questionable territory with the captivity aspect, but I actually loved the way For the Wolf handles consent and makes it clear that Red is staying in the Wilderwood because she wants to (hilariously, the titular Wolf keeps trying to send her back home and she’s having none of it 😂).

If you’re looking for an atmospheric read with a slow build, romance, and magic, this one’s for you!

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dannythestreet's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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tiitu's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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readwithde's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

My opinion on this book changed frequently, but I think, in the end, that's what partly made it excellent and definitely memorable.

I appreciated how the early sections of lore and worldbuilding were handling all *in media res* as Red prepared to leave for the Wilderwood. For the first 100-ish pages, though, most of Red's story is lore and worldbuilding with little character development or character building. Her sister Neve, friend Raffe, and beau Arick all enjoy time apart from this influx of lore, and therfore are much more interesting towards the start of the story.

As Red learns to live with the Wolf

and the others bound, Fife and Lysa, she grows in both knowledge and power, as well as developing a strong bond with Eammon, the Wolf.

The middle of the book shines with their budding partnership and slow-burn romance, effectively pushing Neve's narrative to the side.

The conclusion was a bit jarring for me.

The deck was stacked for a courtly intrigue/persuasive fight between the sisters, but quickly veered off course to what seemed like a climatic end.

As things started towards a denouement, the action picks back up, the descriptions moving so quickly I had trouble understanding what was actually happening. It did slow back down,

giving the characters a proper battle and more complete ending,

but it still felt a bit vague and hollow to me.

Some of the most interesting worldbuilding I've read in a long time, and very descriptive magic; captivating.

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thoughtsstained's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Likes

The writing. I think this is what struck me the most about For the Wolf. The writing is exquisite. Like, I’m not saying that lightly. It’s so lyrical and beautiful that I’m legit a bit jealous that my own writing cannot compare. And while the story is also fantastic, I just cannot get over the sheer beauty of the writing.
The romance. We all know I’m a sucker for romances and this was no exception! I loved Eammon and Red. While Eammon often had me wanting to shake his shoulders in frustration, their chemistry is amazing. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t often find myself wanting to skim read, just to find out what happens next and make sure they were still okay, before having to force myself to slow down and enjoy it.
The characterization. All of the characters are seriously well done in how clear they are. Though I did get quite annoyed with the actions of a few certain characters (coughEammonandNevecough), I understood them, even if I didn’t agree with them. To me, that is so important, for not only did it help me better form attachments and emotions to these characters, but it made them feel more well-rounded and real. Hence why the characterizations was *chefs kiss*.

Dislikes

I think I had some when I initially finished the book, but they were obviously minor, since I cannot for the life of me remember them as I sit down to write this review, so…*shrugs*

Rating

This was such a solid read for me! Admittedly, I actually wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did–because the fairy-tale-retelling-vibe usually isn’t my jam, not because I’d heard anything bad about it; quite the opposite, in fact! So, I was pleasantly surprised, for certain. Beautifully written with memorable, distinct characters and a wonderful premise that leaves me curious as to what is going to happen next. It’s the kind of book that I found I kept sneaking off to read, which is a-okay with me! 4 gems!

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